One of Dean Smith’s favorite sayings was, “How you start is how you finish.”
New UNC athletic director Steve Newmark did not go to Carolina but was raised in Chapel Hill and is a lifelong Tar Heel fan with a bookcase filled with Smith bios and sayings.
Only a few months on the job, Newmark must be dusting off those books to make sure he reviews those homilies and words of wisdom as he faces what might be the most difficult decision of a (hopefully) long tenure. The year before inheriting the position from Bubba Cunningham, he was part of the search committee that interviewed Bill Belichick for the head coaching position, a search that turned into a fiasco as coaches suddenly showed little interest in succeeding Mack Brown.
Perhaps at that time, Newmark did not fully realize UNC would be inheriting a three-legged stool that included Belichick’s girlfriend Jordan Hudson and ordained general manager Michael Lombardi. While Cunningham was busy trying to lure coaches who had little interest in inheriting a dysfunctional situation, former UNC Board of Trustees chairman John Preyer inappropriately offered Belichick the job, a move that forced UNC System president Peter Hans to briefly suspend the board’s authority over athletics for Preyer and others overstepping their advisory bounds.
Preyer agreed to guarantee Belichick $30 million over three years, while Lombardi was relocating from New Jersey and Hudson was moving from New England. Belichick wrangled a $1.5 million salary for Lombardi — who had already established a sour reputation with NFL franchises — that turned out to be the highest compensation among any general manager in college football. Hudson was not a salaried employee of UNC, but her presence became an immediate distraction by showing up on the sideline before games, involving herself in program and media matters.
Belichick and Hudson spent one or more off weekends early in the season at his home on Nantucket Island when he should have been recruiting players. Meanwhile, Lombardi made a weird trip to Saudi Arabia where he was supposedly exploring fundraising possibilities for Carolina. It is unclear whether he was on assignment for the Rams Club, the Board of Trustees or himself.
UNC Football General Manager Michael Lombardi was put onto paid administrative leave by the university on Monday, July 27. Reports later surfaced that it stems from a (Photo via AP Photo/Aaron Beard.)
Another development that could be related is whether UNC faces investigation by the college sports organization that oversees compliance with college athletics revenue sharing and NIL rules. Public reporting have not identified any formal allegations or specific rules violations, and the scope of the inquiry has not been made public. Should Lombardi be involved in recruiting violations, his job would not only be at stake but so could Belichick’s, since coaches are responsible for knowing whatever assistant coaches do.
But: this story is about Steve Newmark, and what he must do in his first year as AD at UNC. We already know about Belichick. We already know about Hudson. And we certainly know about Mike Lombardi, who has grifted his way through college and pro football wearing fake championship rings, and occasionally shares inappropriate stuff on social media — from his account with a UNC Football helmet as a profile picture, no less.
Whatever he did to run afoul of UNC’s Human Resources department and land on administrative leave, it is more than enough to lose a job Lombardi never should have had…and for which he is grossly overpaid.
In his first year as general manager, he could not sign a single college player of the caliber to be drafted by an NFL team. He has been roasted and skewered by radio shows and TV talking heads across the country who accuse this bad actor of not belonging anywhere near a campus like The University of North Carolina. Don’t write off Lombardi as small potatoes: he is the kind of cancer that infects a university that has worked for 200 years to build a reputation as one of the best in the country.
Steve Newark is one of us, and he needs to be here for the long haul to lead Carolina Athletics into a new era and repair a football program that badly needs fixing. Start with Lombardi, who needs to go. Now.
Featured photo via UNC-Chapel Hill.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro during football and basketball seasons.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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